And layer on the uncertainty of sequestration. As Petty says, “Government funding is becoming more unpredictable.”

That jives well with what I’ve been hearing from executives around the market. The technology from one company to the next differs little.

Companies are working on several fronts to make themselves stand out. A lot of times, those efforts are easy to spot from the outside – hiring domain experts, selling off non-core assets and marketing efforts.

But there are internal efforts, as well. Unfortunately, we’ve seen layoffs and cutbacks as companies trying to remove costs from their operations.

But the Deltek survey, and several columns we’ve run, also make the argument that now is not the time to skimp on business development and capture management.

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Reader Comments

Wed, Oct 17, 2012
Susan Musgrave
El Paso and Albuquerque

This is the time to drive solid business development, capture and proposal development. Companies have to understand the process and gain prime information so budget dollars can be spent effectively. In a shrinking business environment, capture and business development is more important than ever!

Wed, Oct 17, 2012
Jaime Gracia
Washington, DC

Small businesses in particular need to understand that cutting training and not investing in capture management and business development may cut short-term overhead, but are not long-term strategies that will improve performance in this difficult market.
Differentiation does not come from the actual service offering anymore, as the product and services that many companies offer are almost commoditized. It will come from the return of investing in improved relationships with customers, superior abilities to respond to proposals and opportunities, and demonstrating value in an environment of lower prices.

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